1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the provision of content to users on a network. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and system for providing content to the users that seamlessly corresponds to each users"" specific geographic location.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet is massive world-wide network of computers. Specifically, the Internet is comprised of thousands of smaller regional networks scattered throughout the globe. The World-Wide Web (the Web) is a global collection of inter-connected web pages mostly used on the Internet that allows users to navigate information and sites on the Internet intuitively, without technical knowledge of the underlying data network. Web pages are connected through the use of xe2x80x9chypertext links.xe2x80x9d A hypertext link is a reference to another web page which directs users to that web page when they click on it. Though the terms xe2x80x9cInternetxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cWorld-Wide Webxe2x80x9d technically have different meanings, they are often used interchangeably.
Web pages are maintained or xe2x80x9chostedxe2x80x9d by xe2x80x9cweb servers.xe2x80x9d The software necessary to run these web servers is relatively simple and available on a wide range of computer platforms including PC""s. Generally, a server is one or more nodes on a network that is operable to provide services to other nodes on the network. The specific services that a server provides are determined by the server""s software and configuration. For example, a web server is a system running software and configured such that it may distribute information to other network nodes that request information. The node making such a request (known as the xe2x80x9cclientxe2x80x9d) is typically a PC connected to the network. A form of client software, known as a web xe2x80x9cbrowser,xe2x80x9d which is used to display web pages on the client system is also widely available.
As more of the general public gains access to the Internet, the increasing number of web pages becomes difficult to manage. A typical way for a user to locate a web page or web site is to use a xe2x80x9csearch engine.xe2x80x9d Search engines usually take a user query as input and attempt to find web pages related to that query. Queries are usually in the form of one or several words which describe the subject matter of interest to the user. Most search engines operate by comparing the query to an index of documents to determine if the content of one or more of those documents matches the query.
However, given the millions of web pages on the Web (only a fraction of which have been indexed by search engines), finding a desired web page is often difficult. When a user accesses one of the leading search engines, the search can produce hundreds, even thousands, of xe2x80x9chitsxe2x80x9d (i.e., documents related to the search query). Finding information corresponding to specific geographic areas is often particularly difficult. Many search engines are not suited to this task because they use key-word searching. For example, a user seeking information about the Miami area would perform a search with xe2x80x9cMiamixe2x80x9d as the key word. This query would generate a list of web pages with the word xe2x80x9cMiamixe2x80x9d in it, regardless of whether the page has any content actually relating to the Miami area.
Information providers such as Yahoo! and Citysearch provide web sites for specific cities that contain information relating to those cities. However, particularly with large cities, city-level information is too broad. In addition, these sites often require the user to manually select the particular geographic site which corresponds to the desired city. For example, a user desiring information about Austin, Tex. would have to visit the xe2x80x9caustin.yahoo.comxe2x80x9d or the xe2x80x9caustin.citysearch.comxe2x80x9d web site. In other instances a zip code is requested which is then associated with a metro-area or state to provide local content on respective metro-area and state levels. Other web sites provide visitors with content specific to particular neighborhoods or neighborhood associations. Typically, a user desiring to access such a web site to retrieve content about a particular neighborhood first must manually select the desired neighborhood. In particularly, new residents in an area or residents looking for information on an address or an area they are unfamiliar with may not know which specific geographic area they or the desired address would fall within.
The present invention solves the above-noted shortcomings in the prior art by providing an improved system and method for seamlessly delivering content corresponding to users"" local geographic areas. Specifically, the present invention considers a user""s location information (such as an address) in the determination of which geographic areas, if any, correspond to the user, and automatically delivers content associated with those geographic areas.
Before summarizing the present invention, a subtle distinction must be made. Many prior art web sites offer localized content on city and even neighborhood levels. However, the content of these sites are not associated with a user""s actual location. Rather, these prior art sites typically require a user to manually select the geographic area(s) to which the user is a part. Other prior art sites use imprecise, non-unique information such as zip codes which are associated with particular cities or counties. In contrast, the present invention is directed to the delivery of localized content that automatically corresponds to the user""s geographic location.
The present invention provides content (both information and services) to users over a network or networks such as the Internet. Advantageously, unlike prior art web sites that provide information based upon a user""s city or zip code, the present invention automatically provides information corresponding to local geographic areas that are specific to a user by considering the user""s geographic location or address. To determine what information is specific to the user""s local geographic area, a set of coordinates (e.g., a latitude and longitude, or any other coordinate system) corresponding to the user""s address may be established using any available positioning system, such as a geocoder. A geocoder is a program which converts a street address into longitude and latitude. Numerous publicly-accessible geocoders are publicly and commercially available. By associating a unique spatial identity with a user, the present invention may use various known digital mapping spatial techniques to provide the user with information relevant to the user""s location.
Advantageously in the present invention, content may be provided in a seamless manner, i.e., without the user having to manually enter his or her geographic location (e.g., address) or to specify a particular geographic area with each request for information. For example, in the present invention, a user would request a list of schools in his or her neighborhood by selecting the xe2x80x9clist of schools in my neighborhoodxe2x80x9d option rather than requesting a list of schools for the user""s particular neighborhood without any further prompting of the user. In this example, the present invention would be operable to automatically determine (1) which neighborhood the user was in, and (2) which schools correspond to that particular neighborhood.
The information content may be displayed in text form, graphically on a map, a combination of the two, or in any other fashion that is known in the art. In one embodiment, the content may be visually presented as an area with a boundary (polygon) and/or as a point on the map. In this embodiment, a user could interact with the digital map by clicking on the polygons and points drawn on the map to obtain the information represented by that specific map object in that layer of information (as determined by the subject chosen).
In one respect, the present invention may comprise a method of providing content to a user on a network, comprising the steps by a network server of storing registration information of the user, wherein the registration information comprises specific geographic location information; determining geographic coordinates from the specific geographic location information; and seamlessly providing content to the user corresponding to a geographic area containing the user""s geographic coordinates in response to a request for content by the user. The network may be the Internet. A geocoder may be used in determine geographic coordinates from the specific geographic location information. The specific geographic location information may include an address of the user, or Global Positioning System information of the user. The specific geographic location information may relate to the user""s home address. In some embodiments, the geographic area may be dynamically determined based upon a desired geographic level in response to the request for content by the user. The desired geographic level may be, but is not limited to, a census tract, a neighborhood, a subdivision, a school district, or a trade area. In one of these embodiments, the desired geographic level may be specified in the request for content by the user. Alternatively, the desired geographic level may be determined automatically based upon the subject matter of the content requested by the user.
Content refers to any information or services that may be provided over a network. Content may include a chat room service comprising the step of allowing the user to access one or more electronic chat rooms corresponding to the geographic area. The chat room service may further comprise instant messaging functionality. Content may also include a bulletin board service comprising the step of allowing the user to access one or more electronic bulletin boards corresponding to the geographic area. Content may also include an email distribution service comprising the step of providing the user with access to one or more email distribution lists corresponding to the geographic area. Content may also include one or more promotional notices corresponding to the geographic area, one or more links to web sites corresponding to the geographic area, and/or a directory service comprising telephone directory information corresponding to the geographic area.
In another respect, the present invention is directed to a communications system comprising a content provider node, and a web site hosted by the content provider node, wherein the web site is configured to be accessible by one or more remote users, wherein each of the one or more remote users has an associated geographic location, and wherein the content provider node is configured to store the associated geographic location; and wherein the content provider node is configured to be responsive to requests for content from the one or more remote users by providing content on the web site for the remote users, the requests for content including a desired content topic, and the content seamlessly correspond to the desired content topic and to a geographic area encompassing the associated geographic location. The associated geographic location may include geocoded coordinates. The request for information may further include a desired geographic level. Alternatively, the desired content topic may have an associated geographic level, wherein the breadth of the geographic area corresponds to the associated geographic level. In these embodiments, the geographic area may be dynamically determined based upon a desired geographic level in response to the request for content by the user. The desired geographic levels may be, but are not limited to, census tracts, neighborhoods, subdivisions, school districts, and trade areas.
Content may include the following services and information which may all be configured to be accessible by the user node: a chat room service comprising one or more electronic chat rooms corresponding to the geographic area; a bulletin board service comprising one or more electronic bulletin boards corresponding to the geographic area; an email distribution service comprising one or more email distribution lists corresponding to the geographic area; one or more promotional notices corresponding to the geographic area; one or more links to web sites corresponding to the geographic area; and/or a directory service comprising telephone directory information corresponding to the geographic area. In a specific embodiment, the chat room service may further include instant messaging functionality.
In another respect, the present invention is directed to a communications system comprising a content provider node; a communications device coupled to the content provider node, having an associated geographic location; wherein the communications device is configured to provide a request for content to the content provider node, the request for content comprising a desired content topic and information relating to the associated geographic location of the communication device; wherein the content provider node is configured to be responsive to requests for content from the communications device by providing content to the communication device, wherein the content seamlessly corresponds to a geographic area encompassing the associated geographic location of the communication device. The user node may be coupled to the network through a wireless medium. The information relating to the associated geographic location may comprise GPS coordinate data of the user node. In one embodiment, the request for information may further comprise a desired geographic level, wherein the geographic area corresponds to the geographic level. Alternatively, the content may have an associated geographic level, wherein the geographic area corresponds to the geographic level.
In another respect, the present invention is directed to a communications system comprising a user node configured to operatively couple to a network, the user node configured to provide requests for information on the network, and having an associated address; and a content provider configured to operatively couple to the network, and having a respective web site on the Internet, wherein the web site is configured to be accessible by the user node, and is configured to store the associated address of the user node; wherein the content provider is configured to be responsive to requests for information from the user node by providing content on the web site for the user node, the requests for information comprising a desired content topic; and wherein the content seamlessly corresponds to the desired content topic and to a geographic area corresponding to the associated geographic location of the user node. The network may be the Internet. In one embodiment, the request for information may further comprise a desired geographic level, wherein the breadth of the geographic area corresponds to the geographic level. Alternatively, the content topic has an associated geographic level, wherein the breadth of the geographic area corresponds to the geographic level.